New Mexico's Aging and Long-Term Services Department dealing with weight of COVID-19

From nursing homes and assisted living facilities to those with disabilities, COVID-19 has impacted New Mexico’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department (ALTSD), said Cabinet Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez.

She said her department touches multiple populations and backgrounds across New Mexico.

“We have Adult Protective Services the need switched early on from abuse and neglect to food insecurity and money. Again, they don’t just deal with individuals 65 and older, they’re dealing with 18 and older who are vulnerable in the community,” she said.

Hotrum-Lopez said ALTSD also helps getting people on prescription drugs through various pharmacies around the state. The department also helps with Medicare enrollment and Medicaid enrollment on waiver programs.

“So, certainly those numbers are surging,” she said.

Per ALTSD numbers, assistance for Medicaid increased 472 percent from last year and assistance for Medicare increased 408 percent during the same time frame.

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Medicare is a federal health insurance for those 65-years or older, per Medicare.gov.

Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities, according to Medicaid.gov.

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Hotrum-Lopez said the number of meals served to citizens has also increased in the past few months.

“We’ve seen a significant increase just since COVID happened. We have seen an increase of 27 percent just from the people we have served and a 19 percent increase on the meals that we have served and that doesn’t include the weekend meals. We are definitely seeing a surge,” she said.

In ten years, Hotrum-Lopez said New Mexico is anticipated to be the fourth highest state per capita in the United States for those 65 and older.

“Although we’re seeing the surge now. We do not believe these needs will end once COVID is over,” she said.

Hotrum-Lopez said funding from organizations like Eddy County United Way and the Albuquerque based Roadrunner Food Bank fill a void that ALTSD might not be able to meet when it comes to food for New Mexico’s senior population.

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“One of the first things that happened during the pandemic was we found individuals and our seniors who were isolated,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you’re in a rural or frontier area, that could mean you’re in the (Albuquerque) Metro Area and not have transportation or access to get needed food or supplies.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic first started in March, Hotrum-Lopez said seniors couldn’t secure necessities.

“We had partnered with Roadrunner Food Bank, plus the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other volunteers and we sent over 37,000 food boxes across the State of New Mexico to seniors and adults with disabilities and so partnering with the local food banks (and) partnering with non-profit organizations we were also able to secure some grants in order to secure more food,” she said.

In July, the ALTSD partnered with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center to help address the backlog of requests for services which grew amid the pandemic.

Ahead of the health crisis, the Department reported more than 18,000 people, mostly seniors, had applied for assistance with food, transportation, healthcare, shelter and other resources.

When the pandemic hit, the ALTSD reallocated staff to emergency services, through the partnership with UNM, 89 volunteers were brought in to place calls to those in need.

“For many of these older adults this phone call is a big thing for them,” said Health Extension Regional Officer Francisco Ronquillo. “We’re trying to make it personal. We want to make sure that we’re connecting with them to update their information in the database and to see how they’re doing.”

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: New Mexico'sAging and Long-Term Services Department dealing with weight of COVID-19

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